Paying cash for a property up front is a common occurrence and taking out a mortgage afterwards is likely where the money for the next property purchase came from.
In fact, most convertible HELOC agreements include check writing privileges.
The problem here is that people are commenting without having read up on the family in question. For example..one daughter of manafort texted something about the other daughter and her husband. If you read the allegations and the story..you might think differently. Dustin Hofmann and his son sure do.
I've been responsible in the past for implementing AML systems for large multi-national banks and am familiar with AML laws not just in our country, but also with international anti-money laundering laws as well. I have to take training on it every year. Having said that, paying cash for property and writing a check against it almost immediately is also one of the most common ways to convert "dirty" money to clean. Not saying that's happening here, just saying it's one of the most common methods of money laundering.
In Manafort's case, this "investigation" may be a big nothing burger if Manafort has traceability to the money used to pay cash for the property. If he does, this "investigation" evaporates into thin air. Done, over, kaput.
In fact, most convertible HELOC agreements include check writing privileges.
I'm not fully fluent in HELOC agreements however don't those involve a loan for a property in which the borrower has equity in the property? That's not the case with Manafort. My understanding is no "loan" was made for the property, it was paid for in cash and that's a "red flag" for AML activities.